Notes / Commercial Description:
The Victor Ale was inspired by its feminine-named predecessor, the Victoria Ale. With chardonnay grapes to make the Victoria Ale unique, our brewers decided to use red grapes for the Victor. Over one hundred pounds of cabernet franc grapes were crushed on site and added directly to the mash. In addition to a generous portion of Pilsner malt, Victor is hopped with Fuggles and Hallertau and fermented with a wine yeast strain. With a focus on the subtle wine-like character of the grapes, the 9.0% ABV brew maintains a copper color, wine yeast influence and a medium body with a tart and spicy finish.

Reviews by GeezLynn:

Darker copper color poured without much head. Pleasant, interesting smell, medium malts and lots of fruit - apple, green grape, melon. Flavor-wise this beer had a nice malt base, but was way too fruity for my tastes. White wine flavors really dominated the beer inside and out. Sweet, very tart and lots of carbonation. Drinkable..not so much. More of a slow sipper. Definitely better than the Victoria, which to me is almost like drinking a chardonnay-beer mix, but not what I would look for in this style.

More User Reviews:

Poured into a large tulip glass a hazed burnt orange with a large blooming white head that left multiple rings of broken lace behind as it settled slowly.White grape skin really stands out in the nose with what alot of people have mentiones,a sweet cake-like note,a healthy does of herbal hops,and sharp phenols round out the aromas.Phenols play a bigger role on the palate providing spice and sharpness,white grape fruitiness,and herbal hops in the finish.A pretty good rendition of the style,the phenols are a little heavy on the palate for me though.

750ml bottle poured into a red wine glass. Pretty red/orange color with a small head; a very still beer, looked like a Cantillon offering. A sweet, fruity (mostly pear, a little grape) aroma. Fairly tart taste, some yeast. Impression of grape juice. A pretty good beer, but I didn't think it was up to the usual Allagash standard.

The look is mahogony red with a very lacy white head. The head forms and dissipates but slowly.

The taste is great, I would love to have this at Thanksgiving. The taste stars with a slight yeast flavor mixed with malt. This quickly givesway to a tart wine and almmost cranberry flavor. The mouth is a building of carbonation that finishes dry. Very nice

The beer pours golden-orange with a white head. The aroma is citrus with some grape notes. The flavor is heavy on the grapes along with some nice citrus flavors. There is some alcohol detectable as well as some Belgian yeast character. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

I applaud the effort, interesting mess Allagash has made here. Slight head and sticky lacing look good, the brew is the color of tea and smells faintly of bread and grapes. There's the taste of malt and an odd thinness from the grapes. Overall, not something I'd go out of my way for.

Pours a hazy golden color with a one-finger white head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of rustic grapes with good amounts of sweet malt and hints of green apples.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Sweet malt flavors up front are joined quickly by white grape and green apple flavors. The ending is on the sweeter side of things.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with active carbonation.

Drinkability is alright. I finished my glass without a problem however I'm not so sure about another.

Overall I feel as though the bottle version was a bit harsher than what I remember the tap version tasting like. I found that odd considering the bottle was from 2007. Anyhoo, this is a good beer but there are better ones out there from Allagash.

A-This beer has a warm deep pecan colored body with a nice hazy glow to it. There is a thick rocky beige head that sticks to the glass with each sip and is supported by a strands of micro bubbles.

S- This beer has a soft hint of ripe pears and a flower blossom note. The finish has a note of green grapes.

T- This beer has a spicy white grapefruit flavor that is followed by a tangy bite of mead and a soft green note in the finish. There is a light sweetness that comes through as the beer warms aswellas a dry spice note in the finish.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a silky texture and no real alcohol heat to speak of.

D- This beer has a nice flower smell and some good balance of sweetness and bitterness. It had a unique blended flavor so it was a bit hard to describe but very tasty.